Week 1 QB Power Rankings: Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford makes top 5
Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
17. Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders
Carr played well for a rookie who hadn’t played a snap with the first team in preseason. However, he didn’t do enough to beat the Jets – there are always learning curves for rookie QBs.
18. Matt Cassel, Minnesota Vikings
Cassel and company surprisingly put up 34 points on St. Louis’s defense in a rout of the Rams – while many still want to see Teddy Bridgewater at some point this season, Cassel helped his cause as the season starter.
19. Derek Anderson, Carolina Panthers
Anderson made his fair share of mistakes, but he was able to put up 20 points and lead the Panthers to a win.
20. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Houston Texans
While he wasn’t flashy, Fitzpatrick did what he was asked to against Washington’s defense. He essentially sealed the game with a first down run.
21. E.J. Manuel, Buffalo Bills
Manuel only completed 16 passes, but was effective enough to lead the Bills to an overtime win over the Bears.
22. Brian Hoyer, Cleveland Browns
Hoyer almost single-handedly brought the Browns back from a 24-point deficit. If he did, I was ready to name him the starter for the season. Forget Johnny Manziel.
23. Geno Smith, New York Jets
Smith wasn’t great, but he isn’t where he was at the end of last season (30s) due to a better performance on Sunday than most of his games last year.
24. Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles
I expected much more from Foles. Instead, he turned the ball over more times on Sunday than he did the entire 2013.
25. Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
Griffin did complete almost 80 percent of his passes, but at least 9/10 of those completions were within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. He didn’t do a good job managing the blitz, took unnecessary sacks, and waited too long in the pocket to throw too often.
26. Eli Manning, New York Giants
Manning played a sloppy game Monday night. 2014 started the same way as 2013 for the Giants, mainly because of Manning’s performance.
27. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Even as a Redskins fan, I normally advocate for Romo – I often say he’s a top 10 QB. He takes the blame for events out of his control that cause the Cowboys to lose. But on Sunday, he forced passes, and Dallas might have won if Romo had played a clean game.
28. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
In no universe should Joe Flacco ever be throwing 62 passes in a game. In fact, nobody should throw that many passes in a game.
29. Josh McCown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I didn’t think Mike Glennon got a fair shot in training camp. If McCown continues his erratic play, we could be watching Glennon in a short time.
30. Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
$17 million a year? Seriously?
31. Chad Henne, Jacksonville Jaguars
Two worlds: Blake Bortles.
32. Shaun Hill, St. Louis Rams
Is Kirk Cousins on the trading block?